“He was a good wrestler last year, but this year, he’s a great wrestler,” Boardman said of Smith, who hopes to join older brother, Morgan, as a state champion. “He’s gotten better with his body position and his work ethic. He put in the prep work in the offseason.

Mat Classic XXVII — the state wrestling tournaments — runs Friday and Saturday at the Tacome Dome. We’ll have plenty of twitter and Instagram updates both days. For now, you can have a look at the state brackets in all classifications here.

“A lot of seniors kind of get freaked out, and say, ‘This is my last wrestling season and this is the last time I’ll ever wrestle,'” Small said. “Having this safety net is real confidence-booster, because no matter how my senior season ends, I still get to go be part of the best program in the nation.”